Shane van Gisbergen, winner of the first Chicago Street Race, is returning to the NASCAR Cup Series.
Driving the No. 91 of Trackhouse Racing, Van Gisbergen will compete in the August race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Just getting to race in NASCAR is an opportunity I never thought I would get, but then to win and get another chance this year is beyond anything I imagined. I can’t thank (Trackhouse founder and owner) Justin Marks, everyone at Trackhouse Racing and NASCAR for this opportunity. Everyone in NASCAR welcomed me to Chicago and it’s been awesome to see how big the reception from that race has been around the world. I am honored to be part of it.”
When van Gisbergen won at Chicago he became the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 to win his first start.
“After a performance like that it’s only natural to want to keep this going,” said Marks. “Shane showed he is a world-class talent and what he did in Chicago was truly remarkable. PROJECT91, Trackhouse Racing and the fans of NASCAR benefit by bringing him back. I don’t think I am being overly dramatic when I say the entire motorsports world will be watching the No. 91 Chevrolet at Indianapolis.”
Darian Grubb will serve as the crew chief for van Gisbergen just as he did in Chicago.
“It was a true honor to be able to work with somebody like Shane van Gisbergen who put on a performance like that in his first start,” Grubb said.
“The team did an incredible job preparing the car, being ready for the moment and putting it all out there on the line and letting him put that show on. You’re never going to forget that. It’s the first event; we all wanted some souvenirs and stuff from it just to make sure we remembered it for life and tell our grand kids about it. It was really cool and I hope we can do that again in Indy.”
Prior to van Gisbergen the No. 91 car was driven by Kimi Räikkönen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in 2022 and at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 26.
NBC will televise the 200-mile race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course at 2:30 PM EDT on Aug. 13.
